Lawmaker offers households temporary opt-out from EU’s new carbon market

(EurActiv, 13 Jan 2022) European Union countries should be able to temporarily remove households from the bloc’s planned carbon market for buildings and road transport, according to an early draft of the European Parliament’s negotiating position on the policy.

The European Commission last summer announced plans to introduce an EU-wide carbon price on home heating and transport fuels from 2026 to meet Europe’s goals to cut planet-warming emissions.

A draft of the European Parliament’s amendments to that proposal, seen by EURACTIV, would impose the scheme in 2025 but allow countries to omit private buildings and transport from it until 2027. Commercial operators could not opt out.

Countries that use the opt-out must prove they can still meet their emissions-cutting targets, the draft said.

The plan, by German lawmaker Peter Liese, aims to overcome opposition from some EU countries and lawmakers worried about the social impact if the CO2 price hiked households’ bills. The amendments also support the Commission’s proposal for an EU fund to help compensate low-income citizens.

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EurActiv, 13 Jan 2022: Lawmaker offers households temporary opt-out from EU’s new carbon market